I sat in front of a stranger on Monday (a prospective new client), but when we parted, we were still strangers. The question is… how do we go from being strangers to doing business?
Before going further, allow me to put this in context for you.
I sell a copywriting service that his public relations agency needs. I tapped the shoulder of a mutual acquaintance to get the referral to the managing director, who then passed me on to the general manager. This meeting with the GM was more or less a meet and greet (by the way, he’s clearly a nice, friendly person).
However, I know the agency has some in-house people who write, and I know they also use some freelancers to handle their excess writing. I also know that he probably receives several approaches from writers every month (I was lucky to get the meeting).
Does it matter that, unlike 99% of writers, “we write quality press releases fast” (for just 55 cents a word and satisfaction guaranteed, or no charge)?
Well… it did interest him, but probably no more than that.
The thing is, he knows what he’s getting from the people he already uses, and how much it’s going to cost him. He knows them, likes them and trusts them.
This type of scenario is a lot more difficult that being given a referral to somebody who is in the market for your service or product. A warmed up referral means the potential customer’s needs are not yet being met and they will be glad to see you, whereas the needs of my prospective agency customer are already being met.
My challenge is probably no different from 60% of other small businesses out there that are trying to get a foot in the door with a large potential customer. All those ‘good customer prospects’ will have existing relationships and services with existing suppliers.
I used my network to get the introduction, but the rest as they say, is up to me.
Except, what do I do now?
Even here I can apply some of the basic principles of BNI.
One is visibility. By remaining a visible presence (now that we’ve met), I will be in a position to step into the breach when I am most needed. That’s easy.
Two is reciprocity. Far more difficult to achieve, but by passing this agency a referral or two over a period of months (or even years) I will be activating the ‘givers gain’ law.
This second point is the real one that I wanted to make.
You see, I can also use my networks to find this agency business – completely unbeknownst to them. And when I do, I help to build the partnership.
Summary: Use your network to find business for other businesses you want to do business with.
That’s how you go from stranger, to partner.
